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How to find all files containing a specific text (string) on Linux?

You can use the grep command to search recursively for all files containing a specific text. Here’s the basic syntax:

grep -r "search_string" /path/to/directory

Below are some useful flags and variations:

  1. Basic Recursive Search

    grep -r "Hello World" .
    • -r: Recursively searches all subdirectories in the current directory (.).
    • Prints matches with the filename and the matching line.

  2. Showing Line Numbers

    grep -rn "Hello World" .
    • -n: Displays the matching line number in addition to the filename.

  3. Case-Insensitive Search

    grep -ri "hello world" .
    • -i: Ignores case differences (matches “HELLO”, “Hello”, etc.).

  4. Match Whole Words

    grep -rw "hello" .
    • -w: Matches only whole words, not partial matches (so “hello” is matched, but “helloworld” is not).

  5. Filtering by Filename or Extension

    grep -r --include="*.txt" "search_string" .
    • --include="*.txt": Searches only in files matching the specified pattern (e.g., “*.txt”).

  6. Excluding Certain Files or Directories

    grep -r --exclude="*.log" --exclude-dir="node_modules" "search_string" .
    • --exclude="*.log": Skip files ending with “.log”.
    • --exclude-dir="node_modules": Skip the “node_modules” directory.

  7. Using find and grep Together

    find /path/to/directory -type f -exec grep -H "search_string" {} \;
    • -type f: Finds only regular files (no directories).
    • -exec ... {} \;: Executes grep on each file found.
    • -H: Ensures the filename is printed with matches.

  8. Alternatives

    • ack, the_silver_searcher (ag), or ripgrep (rg) are popular third-party tools offering faster or more flexible searches. For example: 
      rg "search_string"
      By default, ripgrep (rg) is recursive, ignores binary files, and respects .gitignore.

Quick Reference: Common grep Flags

  • -r / -R: Recursive search in subdirectories.
  • -n: Show line numbers.
  • -i: Case-insensitive match.
  • -w: Match whole words only.
  • -v: Invert match (show lines that do not match).
  • --include / --exclude: Filter files by name pattern.
  • --exclude-dir: Filter entire directories.
  • -H: Print filename even if only one file is matched.

That’s all you need to know to locate every file containing a specific string on a Linux system using grep. Adjust the flags as needed to refine your search, and consider advanced tools like ripgrep or ack if you need faster or more specialized functionality.

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